Submission: EECA 2019/20 Levy Consultation

Consultation on expanding the purpose of an existing levy to recover the costs of encouraging, promoting and supporting energy efficiency, energy conservation and the use of renewable sources of energy.

Introduction

1. This discussion paper considers options for expanding the purpose of one or more of the existing levies on electricity, transport fuels and gas. The intention is to enable levy funding of a wider range of activities that encourage, promote and support energy efficiency, energy conservation and the use of renewable sources of energy.
2. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) is the government agency that works to improve the energy efficiency of New Zealand's homes and businesses, and encourage the uptake of renewable energy. EECA provides funding, advice, tools and information to homeowners and businesses to invest in more efficient products and systems, and to switch to renewable energy sources.
3. EECA receives some levy funding, but it can only be used for ‘electricity’ efficiency activities1. The objective of this proposal is to provide more flexibility in the allocation of funding so that activities can focus on areas that will have the greatest impact, such as transport. A current example of this is the newly-created low emission vehicles (LEVs) contestable fund that EECA has been tasked with delivering.
4. The paper proposes options for expanding the purpose of one or more existing levies. The options are assessed against the above objective and four key design principles and criteria.